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Poets Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Poets Quizzes, Trivia

Poets Trivia

Poets Trivia Quizzes

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13 Poets quizzes and 130 Poets trivia questions.
1.
  UK Poets    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Here are ten poems and nine poets born in the UK and one who was granted British citizenship in 1927. Your challenge is to identify the author of the poems. Good luck and have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, Lord_Digby, Sep 28 26
Average
Lord_Digby gold member
Sep 28 26
117 plays
2.
Poets for All Seasons
  Poets for All Seasons editor best quiz   best quiz  
Photo Quiz
 10 Qns
Let ten well-known poets and paintings that go with their poems take you through the seasons. Have a happy year!
Average, 10 Qns, nannywoo, Jun 26 17
Average
nannywoo gold member
864 plays
3.
  Poets Laureate of the United Kingdom   great trivia quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Can you put these ten Poets Laureate in the correct order, from the first to hold the post to the most recent?
Easier, 10 Qns, rossian, Mar 08 16
Easier
rossian editor
780 plays
4.
  Poet's Corner   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Poet's Corner in London's Westminster Abbey is the final resting place for some of England's greatest poets, novelists, playwrights, musicians and actors. I will give you a description of an individual buried there; you name them.
Average, 10 Qns, fdgla, Apr 13 25
Average
fdgla
Apr 13 25
5058 plays
5.
  Gently Its Touch: Great Modern Poets   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I describe a famous, English-language poet published since 1900. You match the description to a name. These had a gentle, if radical touch. (Look for the hints if you are new to poetry).
Average, 10 Qns, Godwit, Aug 16 11
Average
Godwit gold member
902 plays
6.
  The Fascinating Lives of Poets   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Sometimes, fact is stranger than fiction, and just as interesting. Name the poet from the biographical clues given. Many clues contain allusions to the poets' works, so you need not be a biographer to play!
Average, 10 Qns, skylarb, Nov 11 09
Average
skylarb
2341 plays
7.
  US Poets Laureate   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here are ten famous American poets I hope you've read. Have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, shvdotr, Mar 07 17
Average
shvdotr gold member
259 plays
8.
  Poets From Around The Globe   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
We have read their works, marveled at their talent and sighed at their exquisite verses. But how much do we know about them?
Average, 10 Qns, puklu, Mar 31 16
Average
puklu
279 plays
9.
  Scandalous (and other ) Poets and Their Poems   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz provides you with some biographical data and a few lines of verse, and all you have to do is identify the poet. All poets are from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and are mainly of the Romantic movement.
Average, 10 Qns, bracklaman, Apr 10 07
Average
bracklaman
899 plays
10.
  Name the Poet!    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
How extensive is your knowledge of poets? The aim of this quiz is easy. Just simply match the poet to their date and place of their birth. Good luck!
Average, 10 Qns, jess1506, Oct 29 16
Average
jess1506
286 plays
trivia question Quick Question
This poet who wrote "Annabel Lee" was born in 1809. Who is it?

From Quiz "Birthplaces of some Famous American Poets"




11.
  British World War I Poets    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Many of World War I's finest poets died on the Western front. However, not all of them did. Can you identify how each of the following poets met their end? I have given you a tidbit of each poet's work to whet your appetite.
Difficult, 10 Qns, alliefarrell, Jan 19 10
Difficult
alliefarrell
372 plays
12.
  Birthplaces of some Famous American Poets    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Haven't you ever wondered where American poets such as Frost, Hughes, and Ezra Pound were born?
Average, 10 Qns, jaknife1200, Jun 13 23
Average
jaknife1200
Jun 13 23
539 plays
13.
  Wild Lives of Famous Poets    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here's a look at some French and German poets who lived hard and wild lives. This quiz will probably be difficult for most, but will (hopefully) be interesting and informative.
Tough, 10 Qns, robert362, Mar 22 10
Tough
robert362
513 plays
Related Topics
  Name the Poet [Literature] (33 quizzes)

  Poetic Quotes [Literature] (46 quizzes)

  Poetry [Literature] (175 quizzes)

  Poetry by Theme [Literature] (18 quizzes)

  Poetry for Children [For Children] (17 quizzes)


Poets Trivia Questions
1. Taras Shevchenko was born in 1814 in a village named Moryntsi, then in the Russian Empire. In which oblast of independent Ukraine is the village located?

From Quiz Life and Works of the Kobzar

Answer: Cherkasy

Moryntsi is located in Zvenyhorodka Raion, a sub-division of Cherkasy Oblast. The Oblast is located in central Ukraine. In the era of Shevchenko, the recent (until the end of the 18th century) era of the Cossack Hetmanate was a strong part of the local traditions in the Cherkasy area. A fascination with the Cossacks, their love of liberty and their separate traditions and mores from both Poles and Russians pervades the poet's whole work.

2. Although born in Edinburgh, where he also died, McGonagall is, culturally, most strongly associated with which other Scottish city?

From Quiz William McGonagall, "The World's Worst Poet"

Answer: Dundee

McGonagall, in later life dubbed "The Bard of Dundee", was born in Edinburgh in 1825 (although he claims in his autobiography, "The Autobiography of Sir William Topaz McGonagall: Poet and Tragedian" that it was 1830). His parents were Irish and had come to Scotland to seek work in the dying industry of handloom weaving. Their stay in Edinburgh was brief, merely two years, before the encroaching mechanisation of the weaving process forced them to move on to seek work elsewhere. Paisley was the next destination, followed in quick succession by Glasgow and finally Dundee, where the family settled. The young McGonagall was sent to work in a mill for four years before being removed to follow in his father's footsteps and be trained as a handloom weaver.

3. This St. Louis born American poet is claimed also by the British as a poet. This person wrote one odd little poem about some "love song". Who was this poet?

From Quiz Birthplaces of some Famous American Poets

Answer: T.S. Eliot

The "love song" I referred to in the question is "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock".

4. This poet abandoned his writing at approximately age 20, moving on to adventures in Africa (and other places).

From Quiz Wild Lives of Famous Poets

Answer: Rimbaud

Arthur Rimbaud abandoned his writing at age 19 or 20 - unusual for most famous writers. He later had adventures in Africa, suffering amputation of a leg along the way. His relationship with Verlaine was quite dramatic - (see comments to the following question).

5. His "Tales" never told the tale of his own strange journey. He was once captured by the French and later ransomed back to the English.

From Quiz The Fascinating Lives of Poets

Answer: Geoffrey Chaucer

This "Canterbury Tales" author was captured during the Hundred Years War. After the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360, he was ransomed back by King Edward at a price of 16 pounds.

6. This author is one of England's first great poets. "The Canterbury Tales" and "Troilus and Criseyde" are two of his most famous works.

From Quiz Poet's Corner

Answer: Geoffrey Chaucer

Chaucer was buried in the Abbey not for his literary accomplishments, but because of his position as Clerk of Works to the palace of Westminster.

7. This poet hails from Reading, Pennsylvania. He wrote such poems as "The Anecdote of the Jar" and "The Emperor of Ice-Cream". Who was this poet?

From Quiz Birthplaces of some Famous American Poets

Answer: Wallace Stevens

Wallace Stevens wrote a wonderful poem called "Sunday Morning". It's probably my favorite of his works.

8. This poet tried to shoot one of his fellow poets - a man for whom he had abandoned his wife.

From Quiz Wild Lives of Famous Poets

Answer: Verlaine

Paul Verlaine's life was apparently the wildest of the wild. He eventually abandoned his wife for a relationship with Rimbaud - then tried to shoot him.

9. This poet wrote the romance "The Faerie Queen" and the wedding song "Epithalamion".

From Quiz Poet's Corner

Answer: Edmund Spenser

Spenser was buried very near Chaucer, thus starting the tradition of burying poets near each other in the Abbey.

10. Fortunately, Shevchenko didn't spend his entire life as a serf. In 1838, his freedom was purchased, thanks to the intervention of an aristocrat of Huguenot origins. What was the kind aristocrat's name?

From Quiz Life and Works of the Kobzar

Answer: Karl Bryullov

Bryullov was a painter himself, who specialized in painting scenes from history, including a painting on the destroyed Roman city of Pompeii. He also painted country scenes from 19th-century Italy, as well as portraits of famous men and women of the Tsarist court. The reason compelling Bryullov to purchase Shevchenko's freedom was the former's respect for the latter's artistic talent and his opposition to the inhumane conditions of the enserfed population.

11. This poet created a type of poem which might drive grammar mavens over the edge. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Who was this poet?

From Quiz Birthplaces of some Famous American Poets

Answer: e. e. cummings

e.e. cummings' (yes, he liked to spell his name like that) poems are interesting yet hard to understand at times because of the lack of any punctuation and very odd word choices in his poetry.

12. This author was an almost certain suicide by hanging.

From Quiz Wild Lives of Famous Poets

Answer: Nerval

Gerard De Nerval was a colorful, but less-than-stable fellow. He ended his life at the end of a rope.

13. This hunchback taught himself Greek and began writing serious poetry at the age of twelve. In one of those poems, he referred to "this long Disease, my life."

From Quiz The Fascinating Lives of Poets

Answer: Alexander Pope

Due to a curvature of the spine, Pope was only four feet six inches tall. In his "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot," he implied that his gift of poetry had not compensated for his failure to lead a "normal" life: "I left no calling for this idle trade, / No duty broke, no father disobeyed. / The Muse but served to ease some friend, not wife, / To help me through this long disease, my life." As a Catholic, Pope could not attend a University, and he received private education, even at times teaching himself.

14. This very popular novelist, short story writer and poet is known for such works as "The Jungle Book", "Kim", "Captains Courageous" and "Gunga Din".

From Quiz Poet's Corner

Answer: Rudyard Kipling

Kipling was the first English author to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

15. This poet lived the wild life, despite some earlier training to become a priest.

From Quiz Wild Lives of Famous Poets

Answer: Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire's life was filled with dissipation. He was at times enrolled to study law (as were many of these poets) and to become a priest. The word "moderation" was not in his vocabulary. In addition to his writings, he translated Poe.

16. Expelled from college for writing in support of atheism, this poet also had the distinction of driving his wife to drown herself.

From Quiz The Fascinating Lives of Poets

Answer: Percy Bysshe Shelley

Shelley abandoned his wife in order to run off with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Once his wife had drowned herself, Mary Godwin became Mary Shelley, the famous author of "Frankenstein."

17. This distinguished actor had a multifaceted career in both film and theatre. Among his memorable films are "Hamlet", "Wuthering Heights", "Henry V" and "Spartacus".

From Quiz Poet's Corner

Answer: Laurence Olivier

Considered by many to be the greatest actor of the twentieth century, Olivier performed not only in the classics, but popular films such as "Marathon Man", "The Boys from Brazil" and "Sleuth".

18. This Georgia-born poet read his poem "The Strength of Fields" at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter. Poet Laureate from 1966 to 1968, he may be best known for his 1970 novel "Deliverance." Who was he?

From Quiz US Poets Laureate

Answer: James Dickey

Dickey served in the Air Force in both World War II and the Korean War. Following the Korean War he taught at the University of Florida and then worked several years at writing copy for Coca Cola and Lays Potato Chips. About his advertising career he said, "I was selling my soul to the devil all day...and trying to buy it back at night." From 1968 until his death in 1997 he taught at the University of South Carolina. His 1965 work, "Buckdancer's Choice: Poems" won the National Book Award.

19. As well as being a poet, McGonagall's divine calling also led him to tread the boards as an actor. What was particularly notable about his debut as Shakespeare's "Macbeth"?

From Quiz William McGonagall, "The World's Worst Poet"

Answer: In the fight with Macduff, McGonagall refused to die

A commemorative article in "The Guardian" provides a rather fine description of the event: 'The show consisted of selected highlights rather than the entire play. On one occasion, repeating the duel with Macduff for a third time, by audience demand, McGonagall refused to go down, as obliged by the script, when his opponent ran him through with his sword ("Macbeth", V, viii). According to a review in the "Dundee People's Journal", Macbeth "maintained his feet and flourished his weapon about the ears of his adversary", continuing to cry, "Lay on, Macduff; / And damned be he that first cries 'Hold'". Damned, rather, be Shakespeare's stage direction that states, "Macbeth slain". Eventually, the reviewer in the "Journal" wrote, Macduff resolved the matter "in a rather undignified way by taking the feet from under the principal character".'

20. Ivor Gurney, in "To His Love", wrote these lines: "Cover him, cover him soon!/And with thick-set/Masses of memoried flowers - /Hide that red wet/Thing I must somehow forget." How did Ivor Gurney die?

From Quiz British World War I Poets

Answer: Of tuberculosis

Ivor Gurney [1890-1937], usually called Bertie, was an English composer and poet. In WWI, he was wounded in the arm in April 1917, and gassed near Passchendaele in September 1917. He wrote two books of war poetry, one in 1917, and the other in 1919. After the war, Gurney, who was bipolar, was declared insane by his family, and was committed to a mental institution. He died of tuberculosis in the City of London Mental Hospital in 1937, fifteen years after being committed there.

21. This midwestern born poet came to be considered the "head" of the Harlem Renaissance movement. Who was this poet?

From Quiz Birthplaces of some Famous American Poets

Answer: Langston Hughes

Hughes is easily considered the most famous poet of the Harlem Renaissance with poems such as "Dream Deferred", "I, Too", and, my favorite, "Mother to Son".

22. This poet endured the death of his fiancee at an early age.

From Quiz Wild Lives of Famous Poets

Answer: Novalis

The writer known as Novalis was engaged to marry early in his teens - but lost his fiancee at an early age.

23. This author of the poem "A Farewell to Tobacco" spent most of his life caring for his insane sister, who had stabbed their mother to death.

From Quiz The Fascinating Lives of Poets

Answer: Charles Lamb

Charles Lamb was better known as an essayist than a poet. Together, he and his sister Mary wrote "Tales from Shakespeare," a collection for children.

24. This question is about a celebrated English actor from the eighteenth century. He was also a renowned theatrical manager, being responsible for renewing interest in the plays of Shakespeare.

From Quiz Poet's Corner

Answer: David Garrick

Garrick also studied law and was a wine merchant before finding his true metier. He was manager and co-owner of the famous Drury Lane theatre.

25. One year after the first edition of the "Kobzar", Shevchenko penned an epic poem on a popular uprising of the Ukrainians against their foreign oppressors in 1768. What was the title of that poem?

From Quiz Life and Works of the Kobzar

Answer: Haidamaky

Haidamaky is a term meaning, in general, "Ukrainian insurgent". The specific uprising that Shevchenko immortalized was directed against both the Russian Empire and the Polish nobility (szlachta), that was infringing on the rights of the Ukrainians in the Commonwealth. The poem was released as a separate book in 1841. It's divided in 11 sections, its plot line interweaving the broad struggle for liberation and emancipation both from foreign rule and harsh living conditions with the personal dramas and sacrifices of those involved, high and low, mighty and meek. Later, "Haidmaky" was included in reprints of the "Kobzar".

26. The creator of this line from a famous poem, "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness", was born in Newark, New Jersey. Who is this poet?

From Quiz Birthplaces of some Famous American Poets

Answer: Allen Ginsberg

Ginsberg was considered the Beat Generations most eloquent and persistent spokesperson.

27. This poet underwent Jungian analysis in an attempt to resolve some of his profound personal problems.

From Quiz Wild Lives of Famous Poets

Answer: Hesse

Hermann Hesse may be more well-known for his novels and stories, but he was also the author of some interesting poetry. Unhappy at school, suicidal at times, and a participant in some failed marriages, Hesse attempted to find some peace via Jungian analysis.

28. He couldn't pay the debts he'd incurred from wine, women, and opium. So he joined the army under the pseudonym of Silas Tomkyn Comberbache.

From Quiz The Fascinating Lives of Poets

Answer: Coleridge & Samuel Taylor Coleridge

He managed, with the help of his brother, to get himself discharged for reasons of insanity. Coleridge is most well known for his "Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

29. This playwright, who was born in Ireland, is most famous for his comedy "The School for Scandal".

From Quiz Poet's Corner

Answer: Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Sheridan, like Garrick, was also a co-owner and manager of the Drury Lane theatre. He later became a member of Parliament and argued against the English war on the American colonies.

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